


A Lonely Girl's Promise

by theforgottenpromises



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-30
Updated: 2015-08-30
Packaged: 2018-04-17 23:13:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 15,643
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4684847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theforgottenpromises/pseuds/theforgottenpromises
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In a prison cell, roughly ten years ago, Emma made a promise. Since both she and her cellmate feared no one would come to their funeral, they decide to make a deal. Whoever dies first, the other will attend their funeral.</p><p>Emma never thought of that promise again, until she gets a phone call informing her, her former cellmate has passed away. Emma comes face to face with old demons again. Can Regina offer the strength to fight them off?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my entry for the Swan Queen Big Bang of September 2015 (whose organization deserves a big round of applause!)
> 
> My story isn't AU but no one outside of the Swan-Mills family plays any (major) role in it nor is the canon timeline very relevant.
> 
> I worked very hard on this over the past weeks, and I hope it turned out okay.
> 
> I'd like to thank my sister, who always proofreads everything I write and who unfortunately has to hear my complaints as well. Thanks to oparu, who cheered me on and a special thanks to my last-minute beta reader, Dana. You're all awesome!
> 
> Don't forget to check out the beautiful fanmix inspired by this story made by alinaandalion! It's really great.
> 
> P.S. all flashbacks are in italics.
> 
> DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANYTHING

_“I don’t see it.”  
  
Emma chuckled as she saw Henry frantically turning his head left and right to spot the stars she was trying to show him. They were lying side by side on a blanket on the grass in the mansion’s backyard.  
  
“That’s because you’re not looking in the right direction.”  
  
“Three bright stars next to what again?”  
  
“Next to each other, forming a line. Come here,” Emma said, waiting for Henry to scoot closer. She extended her arm, finger pointing at the exact spot of the constellation.  
  
“Can you see them now?”  
  
She felt her son nod against her shoulder as he too stretched his arm out towards the sky, his fingertips reaching for the newfound stars.  
  
“And that’s Orion?”  
  
“Yep,” Emma confirmed. “That’s Orion.”  
  
“So cool.”  
  
They heard the backdoor of the mansion open, announcing Regina’s return from a board meeting, which had run late. Again. Why they always had to be so unnecessarily long and frustrating was beyond her, but unfortunately they were part of her job as mayor. Henry didn’t resent her for having to work the occasional evening anymore. Not only did he now have other family members to spend these evenings with, she also tried to make up for the missed time by coming home early whenever she could.   
  
“There you are,” Regina sighed as she reached the pair splayed out on the ground. “I was beginning to think you two were purposely hiding from me.”  
  
“O we were,” Emma joked. “I guess we failed, kid.” She nudging the boy with her elbow. “I’m blaming the grass. It’s not high enough.”  
  
“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Henry retorted, giving his mother a shove of his own with his shoulder. “Besides, it’s not even spring yet. Even I know grass doesn’t grow in winter. Which I don’t mind at all.”  
  
Henry was the one on lawn mowing duty. Something like learning to be responsible and contributing to the household, his mom had called it. In the beginning, he had been really cranky about it, but after suffering the consequences of refusing to do it a few times he had given in and by now it was no longer an issue. He would still grumble every now and then when he was reminded of how tall the grass was getting, but in the end he valued his privileges like desert and comic books too much to undermine his mother’s authority.  
  
“You have succeeded in having me search the house for twenty minutes only to find the two of you in the backyard, doing what exactly?”  
  
“We’re stargazing, mom,” Henry explained excitedly. “You should join us. It’s super fun! I can show you where Orion is. I think. Wait. Ma? Where was it again?”  
  
“You can show me tomorrow, dear. It’s time for you to go to bed.”  
  
“But moooom,” Henry whined. The times when their son was really proving that he was well on his way to becoming a teenager, a young adult, became more and more frequent. But there were still moments where the child inside him made an appearance. “Ma was about to tell the story of Orion.”  
  
“I’m sure Emma will still remember that story tomorrow.” Regina wasn’t budging. “It’s already an hour past your bedtime.”  
  
“It is?” Emma asked guiltily, jolting to a sitting position. “Shit, I lost track of time.”  
  
“Language,” Regina warned automatically. At which Emma murmured an apology much like she always did when Regina told her to watch her words.  
  
“But if it’s already late, a few more minutes won’t matter!” Henry tried in vain.  
  
“Nice try, kid. Don’t push your luck. You should count yourself lucky you got an extra hour. We’ll pick up where we left off next time.”  
  
Henry groaned but didn’t fight her as he got to his feet. He had been so wrapped up in learning about the stars, he hadn’t even noticed how late it was. He hadn’t even properly enjoyed the hour he wasn’t supposed to have.  
  
“Fine, but we will continue this!” He leaned down so Emma could give him a good night kiss on the cheek.   
  
“Goodnight, Ma,” he called over his shoulder as he walked back to the house.  
  
“Sweet dreams, kid.”  
  
Regina followed behind him. She always made a point of saying a proper good night every evening. Especially on nights were they hadn’t seen much of each other all day. He was too old for tucking in now, but this way she could still have a moment with her son to talk about his day or anything else he felt like.  
  
Emma watched them disappear inside the mansion and then she let herself fall backwards so she was once again lying on her back. She took a deep breath, exhaling slowly as she let her hands skim over the grass at the edges of the blanket, feeling the cool blades under her touch.   
  
The winter air was although still quite cold, warm for the time of year and with proper attire it was nice to be outside after having to stay inside for so long. The spot on the blanket where Henry had just been was still warm under her fingertips, just like her heart felt warm under all the layers of clothing. Moments like the one that just passed tended to do that to her. The homey vibe between the three of them that had developed over the past few months was making her feel better than she ever could’ve believed possible.  
  
Emma couldn’t pinpoint exactly when the dynamics involving them had become so easy and comfortable. As she tried she quickly found out it hadn’t been a moment but a very long process. It had crept up on them ever so slowly and now here they were.   
  
“He went out like a light.”   
  
Regina’s words and the proximity of the source startled the blonde a little. She hadn’t heard anyone approach.   
  
Regina brushed a hand over the empty space beside Emma, undoubtedly to decide whether or it was deemed fit to lay upon, before she gracefully lined her body up with the blonde next to her.  
  
“It’s a good thing we didn’t allow him to stay longer,” Regina went on as she stretched out her legs, crossing them at the ankles. “The time when he was small enough to carry to bed is becoming a distant memory.”  
  
“Yeah. He’s getting so big,” Emma agreed.  
  
They lay side by side in silence for a while, both sets of eyes staring into infinity above them.  
  
“Henry seemed to be really interested in constellations,” Emma said in an attempt to strike up conversation. “I never knew.”  
  
There was so much Emma didn’t know, simply because she had missed ten years of his life. Whenever Henry showed interest in something new like he had tonight, she was painfully reminded of how much she hadn’t been around for in his life.   
  
“Neither did I,” Regina confessed quietly. Which made Emma feel a little less bad about being ignorant and a little surprised at the revelation.  
  
“You never had any kickass stargazing sessions with him?” She asked incredulously.  
  
“I never had any stories to tell,” Regina shrugged. “My knowledge about the stars is very limited.”  
  
“What?” Emma exclaimed. “There were like a bazillion visible stars where you’re from. I mean, without the electricity and lights everywhere. I’ve seen them. I may not have been in a mood to appreciate them very much, what with your mother running around and all but I did notice.”  
  
“Yes,” Regina agreed. “Then I suppose you failed to notice the stars in this world aren’t the same as the ones there? Even if I knew all the constellations and legends from my land, all that would’ve been rendered useless when I got here.”  
  
Emma had to admit, she hadn’t thought of that. The oceans and land were different across the realms, of course the stars would be too.   
  
“But still, you never learned anything about them?”  
  
“My father knew a lot about them. He told me a story or two when I was really young. It wasn’t often. When mother found out however, it ended very abruptly. She said myths were just stories for the simpleminded. They acted as nothing more than a distraction and I wasn’t to learn about them because there were much more valuable ways to fill my days.”  
  
Regina swallowed hard. She didn’t really remember it very clearly anymore. It had been a very long time ago and she had been just a child. And yet sometimes, when she brought the memories to the surface, she could still feel a weight pressing down on her, making it hard to draw breaths. That weight could no longer suffocate her, she reminded herself. She was free to breathe now. She forced herself to continue, just because she could. Because her mother wasn’t going to appear at her side to scold her ever again.  
  
“The stars weren’t just used for storytelling. They were a useful source for navigation during night time. But again, that was only for peasants. A lady wouldn’t need to know any of that. It wasn’t proper for a lady to be out at night time, but if it ever happened, she would have escorts to guide and protect her. I was never taught how to navigate with the use of stars when I was growing up, nor did I have much of a reason to learn in my adult life.”  
  
“Wow.” Emma processed her words for a few seconds before offering more than that one syllable as a response. “You had so many rules growing up. I mean, I knew that, but I… well… didn’t.”  
  
“All part of becoming a queen,” Regina said in an unattached tone she hoped would conceal the real pain behind that statement.  
  
The hurt in Regina’s voice didn’t go unnoticed like she’d hoped. But her attempt at lightening the mood thankfully didn’t either. Emma took the hint and decided to steer the conversation back to safer topics. She hated bringing up her own troubled past, so she knew better than to bring up someone else’s.  
  
“I could show you a few constellations, if you want. I mean, I’m no expert, but I picked up a thing or two at bonfire parties.”  
  
“You did make Henry awfully excited about something called Orion,” Regina conceded. “I’d love to hear about that one.”  
  
Emma grinned and lifted a finger to the sky once more, to help another member of the Mills family locate Orion’s belt.  
It took a few tries, but Orion was an easy to locate constellation, with its stars shining brighter than those around it. Eventually, Regina’s gaze locked on the three stars, just like Emma’s.  
  
“Those three stars you’re looking at right now, form Orion’s belt. There’s of course a shitload of other stars making up the rest of his body, but I seriously have no idea which ones they are.”  
  
“Such an expert,” Regina teased.  
  
“Whatever. You want to hear the story or what?”  
  
“By all means, proceed.”  
  
“Once upon a time,” Emma began jokingly. She was immediately rewarded by a sharp elbow to her ribs. “Ouch,” she chuckled, rubbing her side. “Sorry. You know I had to.”  
  
“Anyway, just so you know, there’s more than one story about this and I will probably get it wrong or mixed up. I think I may have intentionally mixed it up at some point, because there’s no way I’m going to believe that the coolest one out of the two constellations I can locate is of a rapist.”  
  
It didn’t matter really. All those myths were so old, passed down hundreds of times, even the ones that weren’t mixed up were probably pretty far from the truth by now.  
  
“So, one myth says that Orion’s father was a poor shepherd. One day three Gods came to visit and the guy sacrificed his only animal, an ox or bull or something, for them to eat. He didn’t know the men were Gods but because he had been so generous, the Gods wanted to repay him by granting him one wish. The one thing the shepherd had always wanted was a son, so that’s what he asked for.  
  
“The Gods told him to take the hide of the dead animal and bury it. They all peed on it and told the guy a son would be born from the earth in that very spot in nine months. Apparently God pee can create babies, because Orion was born just like they had said he would be.  
  
“He grew up to be a strong, handsome hunter with a soft spot for the ladies. As I said, not a rapist in my story, but he wasn’t very good at wooing anyone. After one particularly bad attempt, the father of the girl made him blind and exiled him from the island. He travelled across the sea to search for someone who could restore his sight, and eventually he found someone who wanted to help. The guy gave him a companion to act as his eyes and told him to go to the place where the sun rises. The Sun God would give him back is eyesight there. Don’t ask me about how all of that happens, but I guess we must’ve had magic in this land at some point too.  
  
“Orion traveled some more and at one point, he encountered seven sisters whom he fell in love with. Yeah, with all of them. And their mother too, apparently. He pursued them for seven years, all over the earth until at some point Zeus swept in. I have no idea where he came from, fyi. He felt bad for the girls and turned them into birds, placing them in the sky. They’re the group of stars right over there somewhere.”  
  
Emma pointed in the general direction of where the seven stars should be. At the same time, she  
felt cool fingers slide into her own, warm hand. She looked over but Regina still had her eyes fixed on the stars. She did however, see the corners of the brunette’s mouth turn up into a smile. Emma smiled back, knowing the brunette could probably see it in her peripheral vision and then she closed her hand firmly around Regina’s, locking their fingers tightly together.   
  
The smile on Regina’s face, the fingers entwined with hers and the fluttering they caused in her stomach made Emma forget what she had been talking about for a second. She directed her eyes away from the woman next to her so she could remember where she had left off.  
  
“Of course,” she then continued, “the guy had to be good at something, right? He turned out to be a pretty successful hunter, which got to his head a little. At first he would just kill the beasts that terrorized the villages but then he vowed to kill every living animal on earth. Living in a time where there’s a God or Goddess for everything, you can’t just go around saying you’re going to kill all animals without pissing at least one of them off. Mother Earth wasn’t very happy with him. She created a huge scorpion to hunt him down. When they came face to face, Orion instantly knew he was screwed and he tried to escape. The scorpion ended up stinging him to death and that was it. As a reward, the scorpion was placed in the sky too.”  
  
Emma again waved her free hand to indicate where it was.  
  
“The Scorpio constellation is over there, forever chasing after Orion, while Orion is pursuing the seven sister for all of eternity.”  
  
They would always be there for him to look at, but he would never truly reach them. Emma let her eyes wander over to Regina again. In the end, the brightest stars couldn’t compare to the sight of her. And with Regina being so close, Emma suddenly felt a little like Orion.   
  
She felt like she might be chasing after something she could never truly have. Her past, her very own Scorpio, would always haunt her, lurking right behind her ready to sting. Could she really ever get a grip on her happiness, when Orion never managed to get his?   
  
Regina met her eyes then, turning a little.   
  
“Thank you,” she whispered.   
  
“For what?”  
  
“For the story.”  
  
Regina’s voice was so warm. She sounded genuinely grateful as she looked at the blonde, it caused shivers to run down Emma’s back.  
  
It made Emma’s insides flood with hope. Maybe, just maybe she could have the unreachable. She was literally holding a piece of it in her hand right now.  
  
With that feeling swirling inside her, Emma felt brave enough to close the distance between them and to press their lips together. Regina brought her hand not currently being warmed by Emma’s up to cup the blonde’s cheek softly.  
  
It was overwhelming to say the least. For both of them. It wasn’t their first kiss, nor their second or third but it wasn’t like they were making out on a regular basis either. It was new and exciting but it also felt like they had been doing it for years.   
  
The stars in the sky were nothing compared to the ones dancing in Emma’s right now. She felt like she couldn’t get close enough and she at the same time she felt a strong urge to pull away and run. Run while she could still get away without breaking into too many pieces. Run before Regina had the chance to push her away. Which would inevitably happen, wouldn’t it?   
  
It was soon becoming too much. They had been progressing their relationship at an almost glacial pace, but it still felt like they were moving too fast right now and it terrified her. Her mind had trouble keeping up as her heart ran at full speed. She was going to be in too deep too soon. In what? She asked herself. God, she didn’t know.   
  
“What’s the matter?” Regina pulled away, looking at her worriedly. It was as if she had tasted Emma’s doubts on her lips.   
  
“Nothing,” Emma half lied. Technically nothing was wrong. She was fine. Regina was fine. They were fine. It was all in her head.   
  
She sat up, creating some distance between them, ready to get up and leave. The brunette following suite, not quite convinced. Her hand on Emma’s shoulder almost literally keeping her from bolting now.  
  
“Emma, are you okay? Is this okay?”  
  
“Yes.” The word was out before she could even think it. Damn her traitor feelings. They just couldn’t let her get away in one piece could they? “Yes,” she repeated again, her brain behind her answer this time. “This is more than okay.”  
  
“Then I don’t underst-“  
  
“I just have some trouble keeping up. You feel this, right? Us?”  
  
Regina smiled before answering, “I feel it.”  
  
Emma’s lie detector didn’t ping. Regina was speaking the truth. See? That tiny voice in her head said triumphantly. She’s moving towards you, Orion.   
  
“I can’t make sense of it either,” Regina confessed.   
  
“And?” Emma prodded, not understanding where she was going with this.  
  
“And I think we should move at our own pace and see where it takes us?”  
  
And then Regina let go of her shoulder, giving her the chance to walk away if she still wanted to. She held her breath as she watched conflict swirling in those emerald eyes. Then the blonde nodded.  
  
“I’d like that.”_  


* * *

  
  
It was rush hour at Granny’s. It was lunch time after all, and this was the only diner in town. But Emma wasn’t really noticing. She let the sound of muffled conversations and forks on plates fill her ears as her thoughts turned to a certain brunette. She had been doing this more and more lately. Her eyes were distant, staring at nothing in particular as she remembered the first time she stayed over for dinner and the first time she actually stayed for a drink after dinner. Their first time holding hands. Stargazing in the mansion’s backyard. Movie nights with Henry. And, of course, the kissing. She had played their first kiss over and over again in her mind ever since it had happened almost 4 months ago.   
  
Neither woman had been aware of it but their romance had truly been years in the making. If someone had told her as much two years ago, she would’ve questioned their sanity and dismissed the idea in a heartbeat. But now she knew, they had always been bound to come together some time. They were still in the process of getting together though, taking things slow and what not. There was too much at stake to just rush into something they weren’t ready for. Emma had a some issues to work through, while Regina battled some demons of her own. And that was okay. They helped each other where they could and gave the other space where needed too.  
  
They had only kissed a few times and there was no label on their relationship yet whatsoever. All they knew was that they really enjoyed each other’s company. Beyond friendship. And that, right now, was enough. They had agreed to see where it took them and to take things one step at a time.  
  
So Emma happily replayed the special moments they had shared so far. You’d think one would get tired of mentally replaying the same things on a loop, but as long as the simple thought of the brunette could make her feel a little warmer inside, she didn’t care what anyone else thought.  
  
Besides, it wasn’t like anyone around here could read minds, could they? No seriously, could they?  
  
When the sound of buzzing against the table top shook her out of her daydream, Emma didn’t even bother to check the caller ID when she scooped her phone into her hand and answered it.   
  
“Hello.”  
  
_“Good afternoon, am I speaking to Miss Emma Swan?”_  
  
Emma didn’t recognize the voice on the other side, and she couldn’t help but grow a little weary. It had been so long since anyone she didn’t know had called her.  
  
It had been a while since she’d received a call from a stranger. It used to happen all the time, back when she was still a bail bondsperson. Once word had spread that she was pretty good at what she did, people were always trying to reach her for one thing or another.   
  
Since she had settled in Storybrooke, the calls from unknown numbers became fewer and farther in between up to a point where practically no one from out of town tried to contact her anymore. This is why the unknown voice on the other end was so unexpected.  
  
“Who wants to know?”  
  
“ _My name is Elliot Kirby, I am Monica Enerson’s lawyer. I was instructed to contact a certain Miss Emma Swan.”_  
  
“This is she,” Emma confirmed, curiosity getting the better of her. “Who did you say you worked for?”  
  
“ _Monica Enerson. You are difficult to track down, Miss Swan. I am glad I have finally succeeded.”_  
  
“Sorry dude, I think you got wrong the person. I don’t know anyone that goes by that name.”  
  
“ _Maybe_ ,” he quickly went on before she had a chance to break the connection, “ _You would know her as Nicki?”  
  
_ Nicki.   
  
That certainly rang a bell. Albeit a bell she hoped she would never hear again. It had been so long and yet not long enough since she last heard that name. It felt like a lifetime and yesterday all at once. It wasn’t the name itself so much that made the color drain from her face. No, it was the reminder of the person she had been the last time that name had rolled off of her tongue.   
  
_“Miss Swan? Are you still there?”_  
  
“Y-Yeah,” Emma stammered, pulling herself back to the conversation as best she could. “Yeah, I’m here. What’s this about?”  
  
_“Miss Swan I am sorry to inform you, Monica passed away last night.”_ His voice was steady and lacking any emotion. A real, emotionally unattached lawyer’s voice, Emma thought. He had the decency to give her a moment to process the information before continuing.  
  
_“In her will, she requested we contact you after she passed and to notify you that there will be a service this Saturday.”_  
  
The rest of the conversation went by in a blur. The lawyer told her Nicki had died from an overdose of drugs but he didn’t specify what kind. He asked her a couple questions that Emma managed to answer, and she had somehow even had enough sense to scrawl down the location and time of the funeral on a nearby napkin.   
  
Emma was still holding the phone to her ear when someone slipped into the booth across from her even though the call had ended several minutes ago. Staring at the napkin in front of her, she didn’t see who had joined her, but the feeling of a leg brushing against her own was enough to shake her out of her stupor. She slowly pocketed the phone and raised her eyes to greet whoever it was.   
  
“What’s wrong?” Regina wanted to know. No greeting, straight to the point. Neither one of them had ever really bothered with beating around the bush when it came to the other.  
  
Emma shook her head, skillfully ridding it of any emotion as she did. It still both amazed and concerned Regina that Emma was able to do this so easily. The fact that she was so good at it, made Regina believe she had had to do it a few times too many in the past. Knowing exactly what it felt like, she felt a pang of sadness for the blonde shoot across her chest. She was all too familiar with those smiles that didn’t quite reach the eyes, smiles exactly like the one Emma was giving her now.  
  
“Nothing,” She heard Emma lie. “Just some guy on the phone. What’s up?”  
  
“You invited me for lunch. You do remember?”  
  
“Right. I invited you. That’s right.”

Slightly narrowed brown eyes watched the napkin disappear in a leather jacket pocket before they snapped back up to meet Emma’s gaze. She let the silence go on for a little longer before accepting Emma wasn’t going to elaborate any further. She would talk when she was ready, Regina decided and then she tried for some small talk instead.  
  
Halfway through lunch, however, Emma had yet to answer in sentences consisting of more than five words and Regina was running out of things to talk about. There was only so much that could happen in such a small town in the two days they hadn’t spoken, after all. Regina kept sneaking glances across the table at her lunch companion who was absentmindedly moving fries around her plate with her fork, not even pretending to eat anymore.  
  
The appetite Emma had had this morning when she had texted Regina the lunch invitation, was completely gone now. Her mind was elsewhere. A vision of a 24-year-old’s face swimming in front of her. A face she hadn’t seen in years. A face she would never see again.   
  
When the conversation fell silent, Emma looked up to find Regina’s gaze already on her. She noticed how the woman’s eyebrows were raised in question. Apparently she was now expected to offer some kind of answer to a question she hadn’t even heard.  
  
“Sorry,” Emma said with an apologetic smile. “What did you say?”  
  
“Henry asked if you were free for dinner tonight? I told him I would invite you.”  
  
“Tonight? Uh, yeah, sure.”  
  
Regina responded, but her own thoughts had claimed her full attention again, slowly filling her head until it felt like her skull wasn’t big enough. The diner wasn’t big enough. She had to get out. Fresh air would clear her mind.   
  
She pulled a few bank notes from her pocket to leave by her plate as she got up. Mumbling some kind of excuse about going to the station and then she was out the door, leaving a stunned brunette behind.  
  
Once out in the fresh air and down the diner steps she doubled over, placing her hands on her knees. People couldn’t see her like this. She took two more deep breaths before straightening her back and another two before she actually got her feet to move. If she could just keep the flood of thoughts at bay until she reached the station, she could probably find plenty of boring paperwork to distract herself and function like a normal human being.


	2. Chapter 2

“Emma,” Regina greeted when she opened the door later that day. “You made it.”  
  
“Why wouldn’t I?” Emma questioned. It took exactly three words for Regina to realize Emma’s mind was still elsewhere.  
  
Because, Regina wanted to say, I didn’t seem to get a word through to you this afternoon before you stormed out.  
  
But instead, she bit her tongue, opened the door wider and stepped aside to let the blonde in.  
  
“Busy day at the station?” She didn’t want to force Emma to talk about anything she wasn’t ready to talk about but a little push couldn’t hurt, right? So she asked about the sheriff’s day. If, Regina reasoned, she had really had such a busy day she couldn’t finish lunch before getting back, surely Regina would’ve seen more files on her desk by the end of that day. Which, she hadn’t. Quite the opposite, actually.  
  
“Yeah, kind of. I mean, there’s always something to do.”  
  
Regina hummed in agreement as she turned and made her way to the kitchen. Emma trailed along behind her, like she always did when she came over for dinner. The oven timer went off as if them crossing the threshold had triggered it. Perfect timing. Punctuality was a little something Regina took pride in. She went to turn it off before opening drawers and cupboards, silently handing Emma everything they needed to set the table.  
  
Regina was starting to wonder if maybe the growing tension was all in her mind. It wasn’t exactly because they weren’t talking at all, although that too was somewhat of a rare occurrence, it was because the silence felt off somehow. She was certain that it wasn’t coming from her. She was also certain that she and Emma were on good terms these days, so that couldn’t be it either.  
  
Henry would have told her if something was seriously wrong between her and the Charmings. Regina herself would know if there was some official town business throwing her off. She had been trying to come up with a reasonable explanation for this afternoon, but so far she had been coming up empty. Except for maybe that phone call in the diner. Which, Emma had assured her, was nothing at all.  
  
Still, Emma was pretending to be completely fine. Taking everything Regina handed her with care and bringing it over to the table in the dining room. Nothing out of the ordinary there. Perhaps, Regina finally concluded, she was imagining things after all.  
  
Henry bounded into the kitchen, stopping almost the instant his two mothers came into view. He seemed to be noticing something was off too. Perceptive as he was, Henry picked up the tension right away. Unlike Regina however, he decided to take the direct route and address it. In his own teenager way of course.  
  
“Woah,” He held up his hands as he slowly approached them. “Who died?”  
  
A loud shattering filled the room after that. Regina whirled around to see where the sound had come from. Emma’s eyes were wide as she stared at their son. The plates she had been holding a second ago, were scattered in pieces all across the kitchen floor. Her arms still bent at the elbow but her hands holding nothing but empty air now.  
  
“I- I’m… I didn’t,” the blonde stammered, “I’m sorry. I don’t know what happened.”  
  
She squatted down to grasp at the shards. Her hands were shaking as her fingers closed around the sharp porcelain, slicing them open in the process. She didn’t notice the blood with her blurring vision. The pain didn’t register. Everything she had been refusing to feel since this afternoon was catching up with her. She had managed to postpone the impact, but she knew it had to hit her some time. She had hoped it would’ve been after dinner though. Unfortunately, Henry had unintentionally said the wrong thing at the wrong time, setting her off completely.  
  
“I’m sorry, I’ll pay for them.”  
  
“Emma,” Regina tried, bending down as well.  
  
“I didn’t mean to-“  
  
“Emma.”  
  
“I’m really sorry. They just slipped.”  
  
“Emma!” Two hands grabbed her wrists firmly. She was being pulled to a standing position. “Emma, stop!”  
  
A pair of worried brown eyes met hers. Regina was talking to her, but the rushing in her ears got louder and it was too hard to focus on her words. This was getting out of control. She needed space. She pulled her wrists free, balling her hands into fists.  
  
“I can’t be here. I need to go.”  
  
She didn’t hear the response. Henry jumped aside, clearing the way for her instantly as she made a beeline for the door. Just hold it together, Swan. Five more steps to the door. Three. Two.  
  
The door hadn’t even fully closed yet when the dam inside her broke. The suppressed mess of emotion and thoughts crashed over her like a tidal wave and Emma had no choice but to ride with them if she didn’t want to drown.  
  
She took off in no direction in particular, walking aimlessly through town. It was quiet on the streets with everyone being home for dinner. She would’ve been grateful for that, had she noticed.  
  
She didn’t really see where she was going, nor did it matter. Getting lost was out of the question anyway. She had patrolled every street so often she should find her way home blindly from anywhere in Storybrooke if need be.  
  
She was too far gone to even register what it was exactly that threw her off so badly. What it was about this afternoon’s news that made her spiral back into the blackest parts of her mind that she never visited.  
  
One phone call was all it had taken to break through all the doors in her mind she so desperately tried to keep closed at all cost. Behind those doors were all the things she never wanted to think about. All the things she never allowed herself to feel. As long as she locked them up, didn’t face them, didn’t see them. None of it mattered, right? None of it was real. She could pretend they didn’t exist. But now, those doors were blown right open and all the demons behind them were coming out to play.  
  
She guessed it kind of proved how fragile the locks on those doors had been to begin with. It wasn’t a very pretty thing to realize, even though it didn’t really surprise her. They had to break sooner or later. She had preferred later though. Much later.  
  
When her legs wouldn’t carry her anymore, thoughts having exhausted her so completely even walking became too much, she sank down on the nearest surface. Only then did she realize she had walked all the way to the edge of the forest and was now sitting on the end of the slide of the new, and mostly forgotten, play castle. She set her eyes on the trees in front of her, but she didn’t really see.  
  
After a few hours, or was it a minute, someone approached her and took a seat on a nearby log. Emma would recognize that perfume anywhere. She didn’t even need to look sideways, to confirm her suspicions but she did anyway. The first thing that caught her eye, was the big black umbrella Regina was holding. When had it started to rain?  
  
The second thing she noticed was how the woman regarded her with concern. Emma waited for the questions she clearly wanted to ask but nothing came. Regina didn’t push. She was simply there and it was exactly what Emma needed.  
  
It could be contributed to the fact that Emma had been sitting here for a while now, with plenty of time to cool down, but she knew it was the presence of the brunette that really did the trick of calming her enough to gather her wits and form coherent thoughts.  
  
They sat in silence for a little while longer, watching the raindrops come down, before Emma finally spoke up.  
  
“I had this cell mate, in jail,” she began, her voice slightly shaking. “Well, I didn’t at first. I spent the first few months staring at the walls all by myself. But then, after I had Henry, I was reassigned and was placed with some other girl. Nicki.”  
  
Emma’s throat was starting to close up with every word she spoke, and it took a few swallows before she could continue. Regina, for her part, hadn’t spoken yet but she was hanging on every word.  
  
“I guess they figured I could use some company after…” The ‘giving Henry up’ part was left unsaid, but it was heard by the brunette all the same.  
  
“I wasn’t in a very good place. My hormones were all over the place, my body was readjusting and I had never felt lonelier. I couldn’t sleep. I didn’t really eat. It was a bad time for me.”  
  
Emma swallowed hard before launching into recounting a memory she hadn’t thought about in years up until this afternoon.

* * *

  
_It was one of those nights again. Although it was a step up from crying herself to sleep, not being able to sleep wasn’t very pleasant either._  
  
_Emma was staring at the black outline of the bunk above hers, battling with the thoughts of her head, when Nicki spoke._  
  
_“Are you ever scared of ending up alone?”_  
  
_Emma squeezed her eyes as she willed them to stay dry for a change. A minute ago, she really thought she was finally getting past the constant crying. Out of everything the girl could’ve asked her, she had to choose this?_  
  
_Nicki didn’t know, of course. Nicki had no idea how solitude was basically Emma’s life theme. How could she? It wasn’t like Emma had ever really talked about herself that much. She had stopped letting anyone in a while ago. She couldn’t keep allowing people in if all they did was trample all over her and leave. They always left._  
  
_“Hello? Are you even awake or am I talking to myself again? That’s really annoying. Although, I’ll admit, I am a pretty good listener-”_  
  
_“I heard you,” Emma interrupted her._  
  
_“Oh, okay… So, are you?”_  
  
_“Every second of every day.”_  
  
_Emma was surprised to hear herself answer truthfully. No deflecting. No lies. Just simple truths. Maybe it was just hormones. Or perhaps it was the monotonous drag of every day prison life that had her longing for some depth, some meaning. All she knew was that she was so tired. Physically exhausted due to a lack of sleep, but also emotionally drained from sitting in a cell day after day with nothing but her thoughts to keep her company._  
  
_Sometimes, talking to someone outside of your head could be a good thing. Even for non-talkers like Emma. If offered a nice distraction and sometimes even some perspective._  
  
_“You don’t really have anyone either, do you?” It was more of a statement than a question, so Nicki didn’t bother to wait for an answer. “You’ve never had any visitors.” Another statement._  
  
_Emma didn’t need any reminders of that. Her cellmate was right. No one had ever bothered to visit her. She hadn’t even gotten any mail. Not since Neal had mailed her those car keys. She closed her eyes to force the thoughts of Neal from her mind. Even now, months later, it still hurt like hell to think of that betrayal. He just left her here. Knocked up and alone. The first and only person she ever truly loved and just left her here. Sure, he’d sent her those keys, but she would’ve traded them for an explanation in a heartbeat._  
  
_“Neither do you,” Emma shot back in an effort to get the focus of the conversation back to a safer topic._  
  
_“I know,” Nicki sighed. “I thought I had quite a good group of friends. Guess they only ever cared for me as long as I supplied them with the good stuff. They’ve probably all forgotten about me by now.”_  
  
_From what Emma had heard, Nicki had been in here for close to a year, just like Emma herself. Arrested for drug dealing and possession. Bad life choices, Nicki had called it and Emma had simply understood. She too had done what was needed to keep her head above the water. Thankfully she had never had to turn to drugs to do so. She had encountered plenty of people who hadn’t been that lucky. Including her cellmate above her._  
  
_“I know the feeling,” Emma admitted. She knew the feeling of being forgotten all too well._  
  
_“I’m picturing my funeral,” Nicki explained after a long pause._  
  
_“Uh, whatever helps you sleep at night.”_  
  
_“No, Emma, seriously. I mean, I know there’s no one out there missing me right now. There’s no one waiting for me on the outside. What if I don’t manage to make friends at all? What if this is as good as it gets? I can handle a life alone, if I have to. But dying alone is a whole other level of sad.”_  
  
_It kind of surprised Emma how morbid Nicki’s thoughts turned out to be. She was usually so annoyingly cheerful and positive. She had no trouble striking up conversations with anyone. It was a surprise to find out that this girl worried about not being able to make friends. It was even more of a surprise how much they turned out to have in common in this respect. Perhaps Emma had been a little too quick to judge._  
  
_“You’ve got a whole life ahead of you, Nicki. I’m sure you’ll make at least some friends.”_  
  
_“But what if I don’t? Can you picture a funeral where no one attends? Isn’t that just the saddest thing?”_  
  
_Emma had never pictured her own funeral before. She had never even been to a funeral so it was kind of hard to picture one now that she tried. She compiled an image based on movies she had seen and then erased all the people from it. She had to admit, the picture Nicki was painting was definitely pretty depressing. But if she was completely honest, there was no doubt in her mind that her own funeral would look exactly like that._  
  
_“Yeah,” Emma whispered. “That’s really sad.”_  
  
_“I don’t want to have an empty funeral, Emma.”_  
  
_“Me neither,” Emma answered almost inaudibly._  
  
_“Let’s not have one then.” Emma felt the bunk move, heard blanket’s ruffle and then two feet appeared. In a few swift motions, Nicki had jumped down and was now sitting cross-legged on the end of Emma’s bunk._  
  
_“Let’s make a promise. You and me. Let’s promise to attend each other’s funeral.” There was a bit of excitement in her voice now. “Or, well, we can’t really attend the other’s when we’re dead already, but let’s agree that when whoever dies first, the other will attend their funeral.”_  
  
_Emma thought about this for a second. For some reason, beyond anything rational, it was a very soothing thought to have at least one person attend your funeral. She hardly considered the girl currently on her bunk a friend, but it was nice to know that at least once in her life, someone would be there for her. Even if that moment would be after her death._  
  
_“Okay,” Emma agreed slowly. “Okay, let’s promise.”_  
  
_“Promise,” Nicki repeated and with that she was climbing back in her own bunk again._  
  
_“By the way,” she added after a few minutes, already on the brink of sleep. “If I die first, you bet your ass I will try my best to attend your funeral anyway. I’m sure I’ll be one kick ass ghost.”_  
  
_And just like that, for the first time in months, there was a hint of a smile on Emma’s face as she drifted off to sleep._

* * *

  
  
Regina had been silent the entire time. She had patiently waited when Emma needed a moment to gather herself before continuing. She had listened carefully and even pretended not to notice how badly Emma’s hands were shaking. She had fought her instincts to reach out for the blonde, because there would’ve been a good chance of Emma pulling away. Over the years, Regina had witnessed Emma getting away from physical contact when she was upset on multiple occasions.  
  
“And what you’re saying is,” Regina concluded. “This girl passed away?”  
  
Emma nodded, still looking straight ahead. She wiped at the hair that was now sticking to her face in the rain. Only now noticing how drenched she had become. She must’ve been sitting here for quite a while then.  
  
“They called me this afternoon.”  
  
“I’m sorry to hear that.”  
  
There was something about this story that just didn’t make much sense to Regina. On the one hand, Emma was saying she didn’t have much of a connection to this girl, and on the other she hadn’t been able to function properly since she heard the news.  
  
“You’ve never spoken of her before. How long has it been since you saw her?”  
  
“How long has it been since I got out of prison?” Emma countered. “I haven’t spoken to her after that. We weren’t that close.”  
  
At the risk of sounding insensitive, Regina decided to prod a little more.  
  
“You say you had no real bond with this girl, then what exactly is it, that’s bothering you so much?”  
  
Emma dropped her gaze to her hands as tears started to leak from her eyes. She rubbed her fingers together, ridding them of the half dried blood she hadn’t noticed before. She hadn’t asked herself that question yet. What was it, indeed? How messed up could she be not to know what was happening in her own god damn body? How could she be feeling all these things without even being able to put a name to any of them?  
  
“Emma?”  
  
This time, Regina didn’t refrain from touching her. She leaned forward and placed her hand gently on the blonde’s shoulder. As she had expected, Emma shrugged her off. The anger in the movement took Regina by surprise and she immediately pulled her hand back.  
  
  
“I don’t know,” she exclaimed. The blonde was on her feet now, hands clenched into fists. “I don’t know what it is, and it’s driving me insane. There’s all these things going on in my head, in my chest, and I can’t make sense of any of it.”  
  
Regina had heard Henry say the same thing a lot when he was little. He used to get so overpowered with emotions that he couldn’t identify them anymore. He’d come home from school seething, slamming doors and yelling at her and only when she’d sit him down and talk to him was he able to sort things out. Apparently he got that from his mother. His mother, however, was a lot more experienced in pushing things back down instead of sorting through them.  
  
She rose to her feet and took a few slow steps forward.  
  
“This is not about the girl, is it?” Regina guessed.  
  
Emma turned around, stunned a little by how close the brunette was all of a sudden, but she didn’t make any move to back away. It wasn’t an intimidating proximity. This actually felt kind of nice.  
  
“No.” That much wasn’t hard to figure out.  
  
“Okay,” Regina went on, “talk to me.”  
  
Emma hated those words. She didn’t “talk”. To anyone. She never had and never wanted to. It always felt like there was a right and wrong thing to say. A right and wrong thing to feel and think. Everything she said would be judged. Everything she felt deemed worthy or unworthy. She didn’t need anyone for that. She could do that all by herself thank you very much.  
  
She was about to wave the brunette off, she was about to say she was fine but then she locked eyes with her and realized there was zero judgement in them. Maybe saying things out loud could help her after all.  
  
“I keep flashing back. I keep seeing her in my head. She wasn’t even a real friend or anything so I don’t know why this all has me so shaken. I just keep replaying conversations we had over and over again.”  
  
Regina nodded in understanding. Emma was still holding back. There was something she wasn’t saying. Regina figured that maybe Emma didn’t know what that was herself. It was there, but just out of reach, unable to be grasped by the blonde. So, the brunette decided, maybe she just needed to push some more. It had worked before, after all. Well, that was about matters like lighting a fire with magic but that’s beside the point.  
  
“That’s not it and we both know it.”  
  
“I told you, I don’t know what it is!” Emma was growing frustrated now. Which was hopefully a good thing.  
  
“Yes you do, Emma. You’re just too stubborn to face it.” Too stubborn or too scared?  
  
“I got a call about my cellmate passing away, that I am invited to be at the ceremony and that’s it. What do you want me to say?”  
  
“Well,” Regina shrugged, feigning indifference. “If it’s just your cellmate, then what’s the big deal? Call back and tell them you’re not attending a funeral of someone you hardly even know.”  
  
“I can’t do that,” Emma whispered. Regina could see the wheels churning behind those emerald eyes. Pieces were falling into place. Maybe one more small nudge.  
  
“I fail to see why not.”  
  
“Because,” Emma reasoned. “I promised.”  
  
“You were nineteen! She’s a stranger, what does it matter?” She was really bordering on insensitive now and that’s not something she did around Emma anymore. If this didn’t work, Regina decided, then she was done pushing.  
  
“It matters because it could’ve been me in that casket!”  
  
Emma’s chest was heaving as they stared at each other for a long moment.  
  
There it was.  
  
The instant the words passed Emma’s lips she knew them to be true. That could’ve just as easily been her. She and Nicki weren’t that different. Personality wise, they were almost polar opposites but life had dealt them the same tough hand of cards. They had both made some bad decisions that landed them in the same cell. Both had been young and alone in life with no prospects for the future. It wouldn’t have taken that much for the roles to be reversed.  
  
Emma had been lucky to land an okay job when she got out. She had found some stability, some solid ground by accident when she had stumbled into a job as a bail bondsperson a couple years later. But she had been really close to going down the wrong path. She had been lucky enough the city hadn’t swallowed her whole. And Nicki hadn’t been.  
  
Regina wasn’t sure what she had expected, but this wasn’t it. She half expected Emma to have lied about how deep the friendship between her and Nicki had been. She had expected Emma to yell at her for turning the girl into a nobody. But she hadn’t been lying. This really wasn’t about her cellmate at all. This was about her own issues with abandonment. And they were rooted even deeper than Regina had always assumed.  
  
“I lucked out,” Emma explained, to herself as much as Regina. “I mean yeah, I had an apartment and a job. But that doesn’t mean I wasn’t still alone. When Henry showed up at my doorstep, that was the turning point. But what if he hadn’t? Where would I be then? It could’ve been me in that casket, Regina. It could’ve been me and then I would be the one having a funeral that no one attends.”  
  
Regina felt her heart break a little at the words. She couldn’t contradict them. She even felt like it was her fault. If she hadn’t cast that curse, Emma would’ve grown up in a castle with two parents who loved her to bits.  
  
“I’m sorry,” she said and she meant it. She was so sorry for all the hardship Emma had gone through. So sorry that it was her fault.  
  
Emma gave her a watery smile. “Me too.”  
  
It was getting pretty dark by now. The rain had turned into a drizzle but at this point it didn’t really matter. Emma was already soaked to the bone anyway. She was also, Regina noted, shivering.  
  
“I should probably go home. I’m sorry about dinner.”  
  
“I can’t allow you to go to your apartment, I cooked one of your favorite dishes and you will damn well eat it.” It was a lousy excuse but it made Emma chuckle anyway. There was no way Regina was going to let Emma spend the evening alone in this state.  
  
“I also want to clean those cuts,” she added as an afterthought.  
  
Emma’s eyes flickered toward her fingers briefly before coming back up and meeting the brunette’s. “Okay then, Madam Mayor. If you insist. Lead the way.”


	3. Chapter 3

  
When they got back to the mansion, Regina had immediately ordered a soaked and shivering Emma to strip in the laundry room and use a bathrobe to go up to the guest bathroom and take a hot shower. While Emma was warming herself back up under the warm stream, she put Emma’s outfit in the dryer and went into the kitchen to heat up dinner.  
  
She had already cleared away the shards of broken porcelain earlier that evening. When Emma had stormed out the door, she wanted to give the blonde a head start to gather herself and her thoughts a little. So she had served Henry his dinner, wiped the floor clean and put away hers and Emma’s food in the fridge for later.   
  
She hadn’t had to explain to Henry where she was going when she came to the dining room with her arms already slipping into her coat. He had urged her to go after his other mother the second the front door closed after her departure. He had never really been a very patient boy.  
  
While the food was reheating, Regina went up the stairs to see what her son was up to. She found him sprawled on his bed with a comic book.  
  
“Homework?”  
  
“Done. Is everything okay? Emma seemed fine. She said hi before going into the shower.”  
  
She sat down next to him and ran a hand through his hair. Henry immediately patted his hair back down after pushing her hand away with an annoyed “moooom”. Her little boy was growing up so fast.   
  
“She is okay.”   
  
“Good,” he nodded firmly. She didn’t elaborate and he thankfully didn’t ask. Another sign that he was maturing.   
  
“Would it be okay if Emma were to stay over? I don’t feel comfortable sending her home right now.”  
  
“What kind of question is that? Of course that’s okay.” Henry chuckled and then his face turned serious. “On one condition. I want pancakes for breakfast tomorrow.”  
  
“You drive a hard bargain, young man.”  
  
“I was taught by the best,” Henry countered, smirking.  
  
“That you were. You have a deal. Don’t stay up too late, okay? It is still a school night.”  
  
“I won’t, mom. Good night.”  
  
He allowed her to kiss him of the forehead. Although he may pretend to be too old for such displays of affection, she knew he secretly still treasured his occasional good night kisses.  
  
“Good night, Henry.”

* * *

  
  
When Emma got downstairs, dressed in her own clothes which were still warm from the dryer, Regina was waiting for her in the kitchen. A first aid kit lay open on the countertop in front of her.  
  
“I gotta say, you have one amazing shower, Regina.”  
  
“Actually, I have two more. But thank you. Now come here so I can look at those cuts.”  
  
Emma obeyed. She slowly made her way to where Regina was standing. Once she got to within two feet of the other woman, she extended her hands, palms up, for her to look at.   
  
Emma swept her eyes over the kitchen floor to see if she could detect any traces of what had happened a few hours before, but couldn’t find anything. Like it never happened. Then she let her gaze fall on the brunette’s face, which was pretty close to her own right now. She watched the flawless features scrunch up in concentration as she inspected the small cuts in Emma’s fingers. Being this close, Emma couldn’t help but marvel at her beauty. And so she did what she regularly did when Regina wasn’t looking. She stared.  
  
When nearly all her fingers were properly wrapped in band aids, it was time for their late night dinner. They made their way to the kitchen table, which Regina had set for two and both took their place.   
  
Regina didn’t ask before she poured Emma a glass of wine. Not that Emma was complaining. She could certainly use one right now. Or a couple.  
  
Even reheated, dinner was amazing and Emma made sure to let it be known and to thank Regina for saving it. Regina smiled at her words and that smile made more warmth flow through the blonde than that amazing shower could ever do.  
  
When they both finished and Regina stood to clear the table, Emma hesitated. Regina saw her trying to decide whether or not to risk picking anything up before she herself made her way to the kitchen with the glasses and utensils.   
  
She started rinsing everything before calling out over her shoulder, “Those plates aren’t going to walk themselves over here.”  
  
Emma smiled, scooped up the plates and joined Regina at the sink to start their routine of rinsing and loading the dishwasher together.  


* * *

  
  
They had retired to the living room about an hour ago, taking a bottle of wine with them. The conversation had fallen silent and they were simply enjoying each other’s company in silence now. Both of them taking time to process the events of the day.   
  
“Is it okay if I watch some TV?”  
  
“If you’d like,” Regina allowed, not even looking up from the red wine she was swirling around in her hand. “But that’s not the TV remote.”   
  
It was too late. Emma pressed the power button and by the time the last of the words left her mouth, the slow, soft music was already filling the room. Emma’s head turned left and right as she tried to locate the speakers that must be placed strategically around the room. As expected, not a single one of them was placed in plain sight, which was kind of impressive. This woman thought of everything when she decorated her house.  
  
“I have never in my life seen such a complex remote for a sound system.”  
  
Regina just raised her eyebrows and tilted her head to the side. Emma knew the expression was her version of a shrug.   
  
“Well,” Emma sighed and scooted a little lower to lay her head against the back of the sofa. “I’m too afraid to try any other remotes, because god knows what they’ll do, so I’ll settle for music.”  
  
When the blonde closed her eyes, Regina took the time to study her face. She watched the creases smooth out and relax while they listened to the soft tunes that floated through the room.  
  
“Will you tell me something about her?”   
  
Regina wasn’t sure why, but she was genuinely interested. A person Emma had shared several months with but who’s name she had never heard before. To be fair, Emma hadn’t really ever spoken about her time in prison at all. No one ever asked either.   
  
Emma eyed her for a second before she let her lids drift closed again. She was going to tell her off, Regina was sure of it. Maybe it was too personal to talk about. Too painful to remember. Too soon.  
  
Regina opened her mouth to take her question back, but Emma beat her to it.  
  
“She taught me how to play chess,” Emma remembered. “We didn’t have actual pieces, so we used decks of cards. She laid out a board by placing cards face down in a rectangle. Alternating blue and red backed cards to make the checkered pattern. Then we would use the faces and numbers as pieces. The lower numbers served as pawns, Aces for rooks, tens for knights, Jacks for bishops, and a king and queen, obviously.”  
  
Regina turned in her seat, curling her legs under her and resting her arm on the back of the sofa so she could look at the woman as she told the story.  
  
“She would always insist on playing with the red suits, because she liked the royal couple better with hearts. I didn’t care which color I played with.”   
  
Emma’s eyes had opened halfway through the story and she was now staring up at the ceiling, no doubt picturing the scene in her head.   
  
“We sat on the floor of our cell, playing for hours. I sucked in the beginning. I kept forgetting to keep an eye on her knights, they made such ridiculous jumps so they always seemed to come out of nowhere. I don’t know where she learned, but she was really good. It took at least a week before I finally won a game. She probably let me win.”   
  
The corners of her mouth turned upwards as she told the last part. She remembered how happy she had been when she finally called “check mate” for the first time.  
  
“It really helped to focus on something other than my own thoughts. It passed time and distracted both of us. I also won quite a few bucks playing the elderly in different parks after I got out. I was able to afford new glasses because of that money. I never thanked her for that.”  
  
Emma’s smile turned a little sad, but she quickly shrugged it off and leaned forward to grab her glass off the coffee table. She downed the rest of her wine as the songs changed.  
  
“Dance with me,” Emma blurted out on a whim. Her face instantly turned a shade of pink when Regina’s eyes grew wide at the request. It must’ve been the wine talking, but now that she had suggested it, she might as well sell it.  
  
After carefully replacing her glass back on the table, she jumped to her feet and faced the brunette, extending her hand.  
  
She watched as several emotions passed Regina’s face. Conflict swirling in her eyes as they regarded her.   
  
“Look, if you don’t want to-“  
  
“I do,” Regina interrupted. “I just- I don’t know how.”  
  
“Excuse me, what?” Emma laughed, dropping her arm. “How does a woman like you not know how to dance? You’re telling me you came from a fairytale land and you don’t know how to dance?”  
  
Regina rolled her eyes. “I know how to _dance,_ but I hardly think you’re asking me to join you for one of the traditional dances of my realm.”  
  
“O,” Emma said, a smirk forming on her face. “So what you’re saying is that you don’t know how to dance like a normal person.”  
  
“Normal is a subjective term, dear.”  
  
“Fine,” Emma conceded, “Will you let me show you?”  
  
Emma extended her hand once again. Regina slipped hers into it a little hesitantly and allowed herself to be pulled to her feet.   
  
They made their way to the open space serving as their dance floor in front of the fire place. Regina was slightly fidgeting as Emma went to stand in front of her. Her eyes roamed everywhere but Emma’s face.  
  
“Okay, rule number one,” Emma began as she reached across the small space between them. She brushed her fingertips under the brunette’s chin, band aids lightly skimming skin in the process, which made brown eyes focus on hers. “Eye contact is key.”  
  
“Now,” Emma took a small step forward, leaving only a little space between them. “I’m guessing you won’t need help finding the rhythm, right?”  
  
Regina was about to roll her eyes again, but the feeling of two hands gripping her hips made her stop in her tracks.  
  
“If you have seen any romantic movie ever, you’ll know what to do with your hands.”  
  
Regina raised an eyebrow, an amused smile playing at the corners of her mouth.  
  
“When dancing, I mean. God, Regina, pay attention.”  
  
“I got that, dear. What did you think I was thinking?” Regina teased as she brought her arms up to wrap them loosely around Emma’s neck.  
  
“Never mind. Ready?”  
  
Regina stepped just a little closer in response. They’re bodies nearly touching now.  
  
“Just let the music flow through you,” Emma advised and then started moving. Taking small steps and swaying a little. Regina followed her lead, trying to match every move with one of her own.  
  
“Stop thinking so hard,” Emma chuckled when she saw Regina’s concentrated expression. “Go with whatever feels right, it’s not rocket science and there’s no right or wrong.”  
  
Regina tried, she really did, but it took another few stiff moves before she managed to relax a little and just go with her gut, like Emma had told her. Every dance she had had in the past was all about precision. Moving as gracefully, looking as perfect as she possibly could. There had always been people watching. Important people, who judged her every mistake. Never had she danced for the hell of it. There had always been a formal event accompanying it. Her dance partners had always been some prince or king she needed to impress for one ridiculous reason or another. None of them had been her own pick. She had never been allowed to dance with her heart, she had never even been able to because her heart hadn’t been in it. Until now, and it felt absolutely amazing.  
  
After two songs, they were dancing like they were made for the simple act of obeying the music, they’re moves completely synced up as they got lost in their soundtrack. Emma tightened her hold, sliding her hands further around Regina to come together at her lower back, pulling Regina fully against her.   
  
Regina adjusted by resting her cheek against Emma’s. She felt Emma’s smile against the side of her face and couldn’t help returning it.  
  
“We’re dancing,” Emma whispered.  
  
“We are,” Regina confirmed just as softly, a hint of wonder painting her words.  
  
At some point, Regina had started playing with the blonde’s hair. Winding it around her fingers and slowly running her hand through it. Emma wondered if she even knew she was doing it. She reveled in the sensations. The gentle tugging at her hair, the warmth radiating from the body pressed against hers, the intoxicating smell of her perfume. Everything else seemed to fade away as she focused on enjoying the moment.   
  
At the same time, Regina was caught up in her own whirlwind of emotion. She had felt so vulnerable when she had admitted she didn’t know how to dance. It wasn’t like her to be bad at something, let alone say it out loud. She would always avoid failure at all cost. Any sign of incompetence was a weakness she shouldn’t be showing. And yet, it hadn’t mattered. Emma had recognized how exposed she felt and she had handled her with exactly the right amount of care until the tension had ebbed from her body.  
  
And now she found herself here, dancing with the birth mother of her son. Never in a million years could she have predicted this. Never would she have imagined it to feel so absolutely right either. Maybe, she told herself, it was all just because of the physical contact. She had been alone for so long that she craved touch, regardless of who it came from. But the second she imagined being in anyone else’s arms, she knew that to be false. She remembered Graham, and how encounters with him always left her empty and hollow. With Emma, however, she always felt alive, energy buzzing in every cell of her body. Even if the encounters were nothing more than an argument, a conversation, a simple touch or kiss.   
  
She drew back enough to look at her dance partner, letting her fingertips graze over the blonde’s jaw for a second. They exchanged a long look and then they were leaning in. Both pairs of eyes drifted closed when their lips brushed lightly. Regina just barely nipping at her bottom lip was doing funny things to Emma’s stomach. She, in turn, pulled the woman flush against her, holding on for dear life and properly pressed their lips together. Neither one knew who eventually deepened the kiss nor did it matter. Things were heating up fast. Regina still had one arm slung around Emma’s neck, and her free hand was now disappearing in blonde locks. Emma’s hands were clutching at Regina’s hips now, holding her as close as possible. When their tongues touched, both of them let out a small moan.  
  
And that was the moment, Emma’s phone decided to interrupt. They both felt it before they heard it. The vibrating traveled through both their bodies, since the phone was pressed between them. It pulled both of them back to reality. Emma groaned in frustration, pulling back and pressing her forehead to Regina’s for just a moment before stepping back so she could dig her buzzing phone out of her pocket and inwardly curse the device at the same time.  
  
This time, she made sure to check the caller ID before she picked up and she let out another groan at the displayed name.  
  
“Hey Mom.”  
  
The blonde sighed as the woman on the other side started ranting.  
  
“Calm down,” Emma interrupted when she’d had enough. “I’m fine. I’m at Regina’s.”  
  
A pause as Emma listened.  
  
“We just got talking and I guess we lost track of time.”  
  
Emma glanced at the phone’s display while Mary Margaret talked. It was well past midnight. They really had lost track of time.  
  
Regina put her hand on Emma’s arm, drawing her attention. She only now realized she had asked Henry if it was okay to have her stay over, but she never actually got around to asking the blonde herself.  
  
“You can’t drive home tonight. You’ve been drinking. You can stay in the guest room.”  
  
Emma’s raised her eyebrows at the generous offer. Sure, they had gotten closer and closer, but never had Emma spent the night before. “You sure?” She mouthed, so her mother wouldn’t hear.  
  
Regina nodded.  
  
“Yeah, okay, mom. I’m sorry you were worried. I’m sorry I didn’t call. I’m staying over so I’ll see you in the morning.”  
  
She rolled her eyes at Regina when it became clear Mary Margaret wasn’t going to let her hang up that easily.  
  
“Can we talk about this in the morning? Will do. Yes. Good night.”  
  
Emma took the phone from her ear and ended the call before Mary Margaret could say any more.  
  
“Mary Margaret says hi.”  
  
“No, she didn’t.”  
  
“No, you’re right. She didn’t,” Emma confessed. “But she did seem glad I wasn’t laying in a ditch somewhere, so that should account for something right?”  
  
“The fact that she’d rather have you here with me than laying at the side of the road somewhere? I have never been more flattered.” The sarcasm dripped from her words and Emma laughed heartily.  
  
When the sound died, they both turned serious again. Staring at each other.   
  
“It’s getting late,” Emma observed when the silence between them grew a little uncomfortable for the first time that evening. Damn her mother and her timing.  
  
“I suppose it is.” Regina answered.   
  
They both took a step toward each other again. Regina felt her heart flutter in her chest when she saw green eyes drop to her lips for a split second, before locking back onto hers. Another step. They were almost touching now. Emma reached out, holding her around her middle. Now they were touching. Regina wrapped her hands around Emma’s biceps.  
  
This couldn’t happen, Regina thought as she felt the hands at her sides pulling her impossibly closer. Not tonight. Only a breath between them. She knew that if she caved now, they wouldn’t stop at kissing. She wouldn’t be able to stop if she allowed herself to fall into Emma now. This thing that had been building between them for months now, it was bursting at the seams. But tonight couldn’t be the night.   
  
Emma had had a rough day, and if that was what was spurring her on then Regina didn’t want it. She couldn’t, could she? Her body was disagreeing. Her mind growing hazy at the prospect of what could happen. It didn’t care for any of the driving forces behind Emma as long as those hands kept drawing circles at her lower back. But her head was saying no. If they were going to do this, it couldn’t be because Emma was hurting. It couldn’t be in order to forget. It had to be more. Regina needed more. She couldn’t risk this being a one-time thing. One night simply wouldn’t do.   
  
She squeezed her eyes shut, just before their lips would meet and pushed just hard enough for Emma to feel. Emma immediately stepped back. There was no rejection in Regina’s eyes, which confused the blonde even more.  
  
“We can’t,” Regina breathed. It almost physically hurt her to say it. “Not tonight.”  
  
And Emma understood. This wasn’t rejection. This was a promise for a later time. With some distance between them, with oxygen reaching her brain again, Emma was able to comprehend why this would’ve been a bad idea. She would even have been grateful the brunette had the sense to stop them when she did, if only her entire body hadn’t been objecting.  
  
“We should call it a night,” Emma agreed.


	4. Chapter 4

Emma sat in her bug, staring at the cemetery. The digits on her dashboard flashed 1:45pm. Fifteen minutes until the service would begin. She had already been there for half an hour trying to find the courage to get out of the car.  
  
She thought she would be okay when she drove to Boston yesterday. She had been fine when she got up this morning and on the way over. But sitting here now, looking at the rows of headstones, she wasn’t fine at all.   
  
Again she was struck by how little it would’ve taken for the roles to be reversed. If she hadn’t passed by that diner when she got out of prison. If she hadn’t seen the “help wanted” sign in the window or if they hadn’t hired her. She would’ve ended up on the streets too, unable to afford sleeping in motels and tiny apartments. No money for gas either. How long before she too would’ve turned to drugs?   
  
A small twist in fate and Henry would’ve knocked on her door when she wasn’t there. She would never have met him. She would still be chasing people around the city, coming home to a cold and empty place every night. She would still be blowing out candles on her birthdays, wishing she wasn’t alone year after year.  
  
Her mind was throwing scenario after scenario at her, dragging her further and further down until she was right back on that bunk, young and pregnant, feeling lonely and forgotten all over again.  
  
Get a grip, Swan. She told herself. She wasn’t alone and sure as hell not forgotten. In fact, she had people to talk to now. Which wouldn’t be the worst idea right about now.  
  
She was never one to call for help. She never had anyone to call out to. Admitting she needed someone didn’t come easy. Being dependent was being weak and being weak was unacceptable. She’d gotten through life just fine on her own.   
  
But, Emma reminded herself, repeating the words Regina had said to her yesterday, she didn’t have to do everything alone anymore. Not because she couldn’t, but because she shouldn’t have to.  
  
And so she dialed and waited. And waited. And waited. No answer.  
  
Told you so, a voice said in her mind. Alone.  
  
Emma closed her eyes and rested her forehead on the steering wheel. This wasn’t a sign. Maybe she just left her phone in her purse or something.   
  
It’s okay, she wasn’t alone. She just had to try the home number.  
  
This time, someone picked up.  
  
_“Hello.”_  
  
“Hey kid, what’s up?”  
  
_“Emma! I could ask you the same thing.”_  
  
“I was just calling to see if I could talk to your mom for a second.”  
  
_“She’s not here. She’s uh, out.”_  
  
“Oh.”  
  
_“Did something happen?”  
  
_ “No, no. It’s nothing. Never mind. Don’t tell her I called.”  
  
_“Oookay?”  
  
_ “I have to go, the service is about to start. See you later, kid.”  
  
_“Bye ma.”_  
  
Who was she kidding? Had she really expected Regina to sit by the phone waiting for her? Regina had a life of her own to live. A life that clearly didn’t include answering phone calls from poor, needy little Emma.   
  
Emma wasn’t a priority. She never had been. For anyone. You’d think she would be used to that by now.   
  
Gritting her teeth, she got out of the car. She could do this. She didn’t need anyone. Her legs felt heavy as she made her way to where a pastor was waiting to begin the ceremony.   
  
Emma counted three other attendees. Two men and a woman dressed in ill-fitting dress clothes. By the way they huddled together, they seemed to belong to the same group. All three were too skinny, too pale. Their eyes were hollow and lined with dark circles.  
  
At exactly 2pm, the pastor opened his book and began.  
“We are here today to pay our tribute and our respect to a woman of God, a sister, Monica Enerson. A woman who, despite all the hardships in life, remained positive and…” 

* * *

  
  
_“I’m going to get out in a few years. Things will be different,” Nicki said, stretching her legs out in front of her._  
  
They were sitting on the floor of their cell, leaning against the wall. A makeshift chessboard occupied the space between them.  
  
“Of course you’re going to get out. What else were you going to do? Be in prison for ever?” Emma wanted to know. She smirked as she took one of the red pawns with her black one.  
  
“No silly. I didn’t mean out of prison. Out of the city.” It was hard keeping track of where Nicki’s head was at sometimes.  
  
“I’ll get a nice house, a front porch with one of those rocking chairs. I’ll grow flowers in my backyard.” Although she sounded very dreamy, she definitely still paid enough attention to the game to block any attack Emma tried on her king. Never underestimate a woman’s ability to multitask.  
  
“I will get out of this hellhole of a prison, find my prince, move to a nice neighborhood and live happily ever after. It will be my own little, boring, soccer mom fairytale,” Nicki answered.  
  
“Sounds like a good life,” Emma admitted. A little too good if you asked her, things like that weren’t in the cards for girls like them. But she decided not to say that out loud. It was dreams like these that kept people from giving up in here.   
  
“Do you believe in fairytales, Emma?”  
  
No. No she didn’t. It was all a bunch of crap if you asked her. There was no such thing as happily ever after. After everything she had been through even believing in justice was hard, let alone fairytales.  
  
“Do you see where we are? How can you ask me that?”  
  
“Every good story gets worse before it gets better,” Nicki replied easily, taking another one of Emma’s pawns in the process and pointing at her with the card in her hand to emphasize her next words. “You just wait and see. It’ll get better. We’ll get our happy endings.”

* * *

  
  
Funny, Emma thought as the memory faded away in her mind, that out of the two of them Emma would be the one to live the fairytale life. The literal one.  
  
Somewhere during the service, she had drowned the pastor out, choosing to remember the girl she had actually known and not the woman he was talking about.   
  
She did learn however, that Nicki had been attending mass every Sunday, which the pastor went on and on about. Emma figured that to be the only reason why the guy was officiating this ceremony in the first place.   
  
A moment of silence, a time for prayer. A cheesy poem that could’ve been about anyone and was probably used every other funeral. The whole thing struck Emma as super impersonal and it probably was. Barely anything the guy said, was about just her. It could’ve been about any random person plucked from the phone book in any given city.  
  
The pastor closed the ceremony with a couple standard phrases that didn’t touch Emma in the slightest and just like that, it was over.  
  
The other three didn’t stick around. After the last words had been said, they turned around and scurried off. The woman brushed her hand over the casket for a moment. It was the only time any of them had really shown any sign of grief. The other two didn’t even look back. So much for being friends, Emma thought.  
  
Nicki had been right, Emma realized. A lonely life is one thing, but an empty funeral was a completely new level of sad. She never thought she’d care about what went on after her death but she may have to change her mind now.  
  
It wasn’t so much about the funeral itself. It was a reflection of what your life had been. And Nicki’s hadn’t been much. Four people attending the funeral, none of whom spoke a single good word in her memory.   
  
None of whom lingered afterwards. Emma, the one who hadn’t even seen the woman in roughly a decade, was the only one remaining. She put one foot in front of the other until she was right at the casket. She put her hand on it, not even sure why.  
  
“I kept my word. Now you keep yours. You better come haunt people at my funeral,” she whispered.   
  
And then she was walking away.   
  
Why was this affecting her so much? So goddamn much she felt heavy. Every step taking twice the effort it should take. Every breath was twice as hard. She didn’t even know this woman. She hadn’t given her a second thought in over ten years.   
  
Because, the little voice in her head whispered, you just attended your own funeral. That’s what your funeral is going to be like.  
  
O, how she hated that voice. She hated her head for thinking those thoughts. She hated her heart for believing them even more.   
  
Who’s first choice was she really? She had never had this many people wanting her in their lives before, but how many people would miss her when she wasn’t around?  
  
The one her parents loved most was the other, she’d never established many deep friendships, her own son was raised by someone else. And that someone else didn’t even bother to pick up the phone for her. There was no telling which hurt the most. She could only tell that it all hurt so bad. She should stop thinking about this. She should stop slicing herself open with these razor like thoughts.  
****  
She wandered over the cemetery grounds, passing graves left and right with no particular aim. She read some of the headstones and wrestled with the question of what would be written on hers.  
  
Growing up an orphan, she had never been much of a daughter, so beloved daughter was out. Giving birth to a child and then giving it away didn’t earn her the title of beloved mother. In order to deserve beloved friend, she’d need actual friends. If she couldn’t have any of those, then what was left? Who was she?  
  
An hour later, she had circled back to where Nicki’s casket was now buried 6 feet deep. Apparently they worked at a lightning speed here. There was now a big rectangle with heaped mud where the casket had been on display so it wasn’t hard to locate the right spot.   
  
Emma stood there, staring at the freshly turned ground. Soon enough, there would be grass here. A modest headstone maybe, or just a grave marker. And then this grave would blend in with the others. People would be coming by every day. Some may read the inscription on her stone when they pass on their way to visit the graves of their loved ones. They would all see a name that was nothing more than that. A name. And that’s all Nicki was now. A name on a stone.   
  
The pastor had left, the men who had closed the grave were nowhere in sight anymore either. She was alone. And she felt alone. Alone like she hadn’t felt in such a long time. The feeling washed over her like old friend. One of those friends who just barged in without knocking. Who was comfortable enough to get whatever they pleased from your fridge and who claimed the best spot on your couch while hogging the remote. A friend who seemed to have been in your life forever and whom you couldn’t picture life without.  
  
She hadn’t cried during the service, but tears were streaming down her face freely now. Her hands were clenching and unclenching at her sides as she felt loneliness settle into every part of her body like it was being poured into her veins and pumped through her body with every heartbeat.  
  
Suddenly, a soft, cool hand slipped into hers. An anchor keeping her in the here and now. Emma was so startled by the contact, that she forgot how to breathe for a second. Her head snapped to the side.  
  
“Regina.”  
  
The shock must’ve been written all over her face, because Regina smiled reassuringly before she took her hand back and opened her arms. Emma fell into them, crumbling in her hold. She had been coming apart at the seams since she got here and now she was completely falling to pieces.   
  
Regina just held her as she cried. She stroked Emma’s back as the blonde’s hands clutched tighter at hers.   
  
She had been doubting her decision to come here when she had pulled up next to the yellow bug a minute ago. The idea of turning back around had crossed her mind more than once on the four hour drive over there. She had almost gone back to her car when she caught sight of Emma’s slumped figure standing there at the grave. But when Emma had turned to her, looking so broken, every slither of uncertainty had evaporated from her mind. One look was all it took to know that there was no other place in the world that could possibly demand her presence right now.  
  
Emma pulled back so she could look in Regina’s eyes, but she never let go of her.   
  
“You’re here?” Emma said with a hitch in her voice. It sounded an awful lot like a question.   
  
“I’m here,” Regina confirmed.   
  
“Why?”   
  
That caught Regina off guard. Why? What did she mean, why? The uncertainty in her voice. The way she was searching Regina’s eyes for clues now. It took her a long moment to figure it out. She flashed back to the conversation they’d had at the play castle. Emma hadn’t expected her to come all this way. Emma hadn’t expected her to care enough.   
  
This trip, the funeral, it had reminded Emma of a past she would so gladly forget. Emma herself had admitted how alone she still felt. She had more or less told her she didn’t expect anyone to be there for her when it counted. The past had always proven her right.   
  
Of course she hadn’t expected her to show up here. Of course she had expected to be completely alone to deal with everything by herself. With every realization, Regina’s heart broke a little more. It kept astonishing her how deep Emma’s old wounds were and how little they had healed over time.   
  
It was in this moment that she decided she was going to do everything in her power to make sure Emma never felt alone or abandoned ever again. Starting with offering the truth. She hadn’t planned on saying it because it was too big a step. But this was no time for playing it safe. Life was too short. Standing almost literally on the proof of that statement, Regina felt more than knew what her next move should be.   
  
It was time for a leap of faith.  
  
“Because,” Regina took a deep breath. “I love you.”  
  
“You do?”   
  
It was hard for Emma to process the words. To pull herself to the surface enough to even understand them, let alone believe them. She felt so completely floored by the brunette’s words, she couldn’t help but question them.  
  
“I do.” Regina said confidently. “I think I may have for quite some time now.”  
  
Emma didn’t answer. Her lips parted slightly as her mind tried to catch up with the emotions fighting for dominance in her chest. Chaos. Complete and utter chaos.   
  
Loneliness had been flooding her chest like water. Soaking everything it encountered to the core. She had been drowning in it. It had pushed every good thing she had to the background as it poured in from every side and demanded the spotlight.   
  
Then Regina had been there. Her words like drops of bright red ink, creating vibrant dancing clouds in the otherwise dull liquid. All of a sudden, there was color again, there was warmth. The ink spreading though the water, coloring her insides a beautiful deep red as Regina’s voice floated towards her. Loneliness blended into something else. Something so incredibly good she never wanted to let it go.   
  
Everything fell into place now. She had her parents, a son who loved her and a town to call home. But only now did that crucial last, formerly missing piece fall into place. It was her. She could have had everyone else in this world, and still feel lonely if she didn’t have Regina. But she did. She had her and things made sense.   
  
The brunette’s hands came up to wipe at Emma’s tears that were still tumbling down her cheeks.   
  
“You’re not alone, Emma.”  
  
“No,” Emma agreed hoarsely before clearing her throat and bringing her own hands up to take Regina’s in hers. “No, I’m not alone at all.” For the first time in maybe forever, Emma actually believed herself when she said those words.  
  
“Are you okay to go home now?”  
  
Home. Her home. Their home.  
  
“I have my hotel room booked for another night. I think I would like to stay.” Regina’s face fell just noticeably, before Emma added. “If you would join me.”   
  
At this Regina smiled so brightly, it chased the last of Emma’s tears right out the door.

* * *

  
  
When Regina slowly drifted back into consciousness, eyes still closed, the first thing she notices was that these weren’t her sheets. The second thing was that she wasn’t wearing any clothes. It didn’t take long for her mind to wake enough and remind her where she was and, more importantly, who she was with. Memories of what they had shared only a few hours ago came back to her in full force.  
  
Emma had heard the change in Regina’s breathing, indicating her waking and was now watching a smile form on her face. It was by far the most beautiful sight Emma had ever seen. Regina’s eyes fluttered open, her smile growing wider as she focused on the woman laying less than a foot away from her.  
  
Emma lay on her side, watching her.  
  
“Hi,” Emma whispered. She reached out to tuck a strand of dark hair behind Regina’s ear.   
  
Regina didn’t speak, she just scooted closer and pressed a kiss to the blonde’s lips. Emma responded enthusiastically, wrapping her arms around her middle and rolling half on top of her.   
  
She pulled back and waited for Regina to open her eyes and lock them onto hers.   
  
“I love you too.”  
  
Somewhere in the time she had spent watching Regina sleep and processing everything that had happened, she had realized she never actually said it back. Not out loud at least.  
  
Regina responded by placing her hands on both sides of the blonde’s face pulling her back down and connecting their mouths once more.   
  
When Regina swiped her tongue over Emma’s bottom lip, Emma wasted no time parting her lips and welcoming her in.   
  
God, she welcomed her in. Into her mouth, into her life, into her heart.  
  
The last conscious thought she had before tipping over the edge and getting lost in Regina’s warm embrace once more, was that if she were to die tomorrow, at least she wouldn’t die alone.

**Author's Note:**

> Please let me know what you think! Any and all feedback is so very appreciated!

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Fanmix for A Lonely Girl's Promise](https://archiveofourown.org/works/4674791) by [alinaandalion](https://archiveofourown.org/users/alinaandalion/pseuds/alinaandalion)




End file.
